Beautiful Ache

The Tension that exists 

when you have no child 

of your own, but you 

have wonderful children

in your life; it is my thorn 

in the flesh, to have the love 

and relationship as an aunt, 

friend, teacher, but those titles, 

while blessed and meaningful, 

cannot replace the one name 

I will never hear whispered 

in the nightly exchange 

after bedtime prayers, 

when a sleepy little one 

says in the sweetest 

and tenderest voice, 

“Goodnight, mommy.” 

That longing is my 

beautiful ache.

—C.L. Fisher, August 2020

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